Google joins up with FIDO Alliance, looks to replace passwords with more secure methods
With all the hacking that’s been going on these days, (see AP’s Twitter hijinx from a few days ago), you may be wondering just how secure the traditional password method really is. I think it’s safe to say that, well… passwords aren’t very secure. And there’d be many who’d agree with you. Take the Fast Identity Online Alliance, a security group founded in 2012 that that looks to finally kill off the password, replacing it instead with hardware (NFC, voice, fingerprints, etc.) that must be used to authenticate a user before permitting access to online accounts and other sensitive information.
Today the FIDO Alliance announced their newest member: Google. Backed by heavy-weight such as PayPal and Lenovo, Google is just another ally for FIDO who needs backing from as many bigwigs as possible if they hope to bring their plans of a multiple standardized methods to fruition. Google, who already provides a variety of authentication processes like facial recognition in Android, or 2-step verification in Gmail, perfectly lines up with that goal. This reminds me, I should probably refresh all my passwords soon…
[via Press Release]